HOUSTON, Texas (Oct. 14, 2016) – The FIU women's swimming and diving team took eight of 11 events to defeat Tulane, 142-82, during Day One of this year's Dual-A-Palooza on Friday, Oct. 14, from the Rice Competition Pool.
"We came out swimming well today," Head Coach
Randy Horner said. "I really like the competitiveness of the team today. Our returners carried the team, recording many of the dual meet's best times. We had two freshman divers debut today and I'm proud of how they competed, sweeping the 3-meter."
FIU began the day defeating Tulane in the 400 Medley Relay as the team of
Naomi Ruele,
Taylor Grabenhorst,
Letizia Bertelli and
Jennifer Deist registered a time of 3:47.87.
Kyna Pereira recorded the top time of the meet in the 1000 Free, scoring a 10:03.66 as the Panthers out-scored the Green Wave, 12-7, in event number two. FIU followed that up winning the 200 Back as
Skye Carey (2:00.27) and
Karin Tomeckova (2:04.64) finished first and second, respectively. Carey's time was the second-best of the day. FIU extended its lead, 52-22, claiming 16 of the 19 total points available in the 50 Free. Ruele took the top spot among all four schools with a time of 23.36. Bertelli followed that with a time of 23.70 (second-best of the day).
Jennifer Alfani (23.86) and Deist (24.13) also scored points for the Panthers in the 50 Free.
In the 100 Fly, Bertelli recorded the day's top time (55.84).
Marie Lauridsen finished second with a time of 56.75 versus Tulane in the 100 Fly as the Panthers took a 71-41 lead.
The Panthers defeated the Green Wave in the 50 Back, out-scoring Tulane, 14-5, as Ruele (25.93), Alfani (26.02) and
Ally Mayhew (27.25) each scored points.
Pereira continued her dominance in the 500 Free, setting the pool record with a 4:55.17. It marked the second-straight week in which Pereira won both the 500 and 1000 Free. Carey (5:02.56) placed third in the event followed by
Rachel Whitaker (5:11.82 – fifth).
FIU added to its lead, defeating Tulane, 16-3, in the 100 Free Relay. Alfani,
Megan Bowen, Mayhew and Lauridsen won the event with a time of 43.59. The squad added an additional two points as Tomeckova,
Maria Lopez,
Alexa Bryant and Pereira registered a 45.37.
The Panthers closed out the day sweeping the 3-meter program.
Rebecca Quesnel (276.25),
Brittany Haskell (247.45),
Brooke Bouchard (241.30) recorded the day's top three scores as FIU claimed the 60-point win.
The Panthers will next face host-school Rice on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 11:00 a.m. followed by Denver at 4:00 p.m. to wrap up this year's Dual-A-Palooza.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSwimDive) and become a fan on Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSwimmingAndDiving) for all the latest Swimming and Diving news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
#####
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
